Hebrew word · H7537

רָקֵב

yirkav

to rot

To rot, decay. Used of wood (Isaiah 40:20, 'a tree that will not rot'). The related noun raqav means rottenness, as in 'rottenness in the bones' (Proverbs 12:4; 14:30; Habakkuk 3:16).

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

(Qal) to rot

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Proverbs 10:7

Range of meaning

To rot, decay. Used of wood (Isaiah 40:20, 'a tree that will not rot'). The related noun raqav means rottenness, as in 'rottenness in the bones' (Proverbs 12:4; 14:30; Habakkuk 3:16).

Against the English

English 'rot' is accurate. The picture is physical decay: smell, crumbling, then nothing.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isaiah 40:20; Job 13:28 ('like a rotten thing that wears out'); Proverbs 12:4; 14:30. The Greek Septuagint renders the image differently, as 'is extinguished' (see textual notes).

Where it appears

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 10:7 יִרְקָֽב׃ it will rot

    The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.

    Here: Rot the way wood or a body rots: slow, foul-smelling decay until nothing is left. The verb describes an ongoing process with an end point. The name does not stay as a bad reputation. It falls apart and disappears.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 40:20 יִרְקַ֖ב it will rot

    One lacking such an offering chooses wood that will not rot. He seeks a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple.

    Here: The worshipper's worry is decay. A god whose body could rot is no god, so he picks durable timber. The irony is that the god's lasting depends on how good the lumber is.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.